Roosters are more than annoying; they're demons sent from hell with no purpose in life but to scream as soon as they catch even a glimpse of sun. (Technically, they exist to be the other half in the chicken baby-making process, but honestly who cares. Roosters are s.) Until this moment, Hansol has never had the experience of being woken up at ungodly hours thanks to a bird who feels like it's his duty to announce that you can kinda see the sun but it's still pretty dark out and no person who loves themself would willingly wake up at this time but i’m gonna yell anyway. He groaned and folded his pillow over his ears, desperately trying to block out the sound. He was unfortunately unsuccessful in doing so, but after a few minutes it finally stopped and he sighed in relief.

The comfortable silence lasted for a few minutes. Just as his eyes were starting to close again, there was a sharp knock on the door. Hansol grunted and mumbled something that sounded like I’m awake, and the door swung open, revealing a very cheerful Seungkwan. How someone could be smiling so wide this early in the morning was beyond Hansol, yet there Seungkwan was, opening the curtains while babbling on about something excitedly. Hansol picked up a few words, like town and lunch.

Then Seungkwan was at the foot of his bed, leaning over the vintage brass footboard. “Good morning Hansol. Did you hear? My mom is going out to town later today, and we can go with her.”

Hansol blinked as the words were processed by his brain. Seungkwan looked on expectedly, and when Hansol nodded slowly the other boy grabbed his arm, pulling him up into a sitting position.

“Good! Get dressed, there's food downstairs.”

Then Seungkwan was gone almost as quickly as he had appeared. Hansol stretched, looking around the room lazily. Get dressed. He thought back to what Seungkwan had mentioned yesterday, about skinny jeans and like not being suitable for the outdoors. Sadly, that was more than half of Hansol’s wardrobe. After rummaging through the larger of his yet-to-be-unpacked suitcases, he was able to find a pair of jeans that might work and a light grey t-shirt.

He was about to leave the room when he stopped in front of the mirror and froze because god, how can hair even look that bad after only sleeping. Most days Hansol wouldn’t have cared about having a bed head, but something about knowing Seungkwan would be downstairs made his hands reach up in an attempt to calm it down. He was somewhat satisfied with the results; it almost looked purposefully messy.

He wasn’t going to lie to himself. Hansol knew he already liked the other boy, to what extent he wasn’t totally sure, but he definitely wanted to leave a good impression.

Mornings are very peaceful in the Boo household. Especially compared to Hansol’s average morning back home, with his dad watching the news louder than he needs it and his mom desperately trying to throw together some kind of nutritious lunch (once in her rush, she forgot to pack Hansol anything but a bunch of carrot sticks, which brought on an interesting lunch experience). When Hansol walks downstairs finally, he's met with near silence.

Seungkwan is sitting at the kitchen table with his mom, both of them reading something out of a newspaper while they each drink some kind of morning beverage out of their own mugs. Seungkwan looks up at the sound of footsteps, smiling when his eyes meet Hansol’s.

“Good, you're up!” He stands up quickly, nearly knocking down his mug in the process, but he pays it no mind as he walks over to Hansol.

“We’ll be going out as my mom makes breakfast.” Hansol wants to groan at that; it’s still mostly dark out and he can't possibly think of something that would be fun to do at such a time, but Seungkwan looks so excited and Hansol can't help smile a bit as well.

“Okay.”

“I worried that you wouldn't be up in time, but I think we’re good.” Seungkwan says, out of breath by the time they reach the destination he so desperately wanted to show. It's a hill, and upon reaching the top Hansol realizes that it's not just a mound of dirt with a tree growing at the top; there's a perfect view of the horizon going out for at least miles. Small farms much like Seungkwan’s are sprinkled out among the woods and fields, and in the distance Hansol can make out buildings of a town.

“It would be cheesy to say something like ‘It’s beautiful, isn't it?’, right?” Hansol doesn't answer, too caught up in the way the pale yellow light bathes everything around in a soft glow. It's not something unique, a sunrise is by no means special, it happens every day. However, Hansol has never taken the time to watch one in all eighteen years of his life, a realization that instantly fills his heart with regret.

“You need to take time to appreciate the small things, like this.” Seungkwan says suddenly, almost as if he could read the thoughts going through Hansol’s head. “It makes you a lot happier.”

It has yet to be a day since Hansol has met Seungkwan, but he can already tell that this boy is far more wise than most kids of their age. Being young is not bad, and Seungkwan seems to have the perfect balance of youth and maturity. Hansol envies it, but he's not at all bitter. If anything, he hopes that maybe over the course of the summer some of it will rub off on him.

A little bell attached to the door rang as it swung open, and immediately Hansol’s senses were flooded by the smell of coffee, cookies, bread, and an assortment of other scents he could not identify, the sound of chattering people and scratchy music playing from somewhere further away, and the feeling of coziness. It was a lot at once, but not at all overwhelming.

Seungkwan and Hansol were in town now, just as Seungkwan said they would be